Title: Pope Caius

Artist: Lorenzo Monaco

Title: Martyrdom of Pope Caius Date: 1394–95 Artist: Lorenzo Monaco (Lorenzo di Giovanni) Artist Details: Italian, before 1371–1423/24 Medium: Tempera on panel Description Originally part of an altarpiece for the church of San Gaggio in Florence, this scene depicts the death of the church’s namesake, Caius (“Gaggio” in the local dialect). The pope’s decapitation was ordered by the Roman emperor Diocletian in A.D. 296. For this unusual subject, the artist employed daring color contrasts and created the illusion of receding space by setting the palace architecture at an angle. Lent by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Museum Purchase